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Friday, April 8, 2011

Paul's 36 Hours in Washington, DC

When Paul found out that one of his good friends from Columbus would be in Washington, DC, for a soccer game, it didn't take him long to decide to meet him there. After all, DC is a lot easier to get to than Ohio. Instead of driving, Paul took Megabus, a discount bus service that runs between several cities in the Northeast and elsewhere. All in all, it was a whirlwind trip -- he left Saturday morning and was back at our Brooklyn apartment in time for supper Sunday night. Here's Paul's account of his weekend.

My friend Ryan is in a Columbus Crew backer club that gets together at a bar to watch home games and travels to various cities to watch away games. I met him in Washington, DC, for a game between the Crew and DC United.

The game was at 7 p.m., so I had plenty of time to get there that Saturday. Spending the four hour trip sleeping or reading sounded a lot more pleasant than driving, so for about $30 I got a round-trip Megabus ticket.

The bus left right on time from Midtown on the far west side of Manhattan, and the seats were surprisingly comfortable. As a bonus, I was able to get all my fantasy baseball draft research done during the trip.

I arrived at the hotel -- in a Virginia suburb of DC -- just about the same time as Ryan and the Crew backer club. We soon left for the stadium.

I've always liked watching soccer, but I've never really followed it and probably never will. Living in Columbus, I'd always go to a game or two a year. Part of the charm was that it was a laid-back scene. There was a decent crowd, but it was mostly families and kids and it really felt like no one took it too seriously. It seems that the MLS now has real fans to rival any other sport, if the level of douchery at the game is any indication.

After the game we headed to some local bars, and it was confirmed for me that DC has just as many hipsters as Williamsburg and Park Slope. If anything, they're more dedicated to the hipster ironic lifestyle if the vintage clothing and fedoras were any indication.

The next morning we drove around and did some sightseeing. My friends dropped me off at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History, where I was able to view Rick Flair's actual wrestling robe (WHOOOO!!!!).

The return bus ride was a little longer than the trip to DC, owing to some bad traffic.Still, it was much more relaxing than a drive, and there were no intrusive pat downs or security lines to deal with. I will definitely take Megabus again if I need to go somewhere in the Northeast.